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The first Hayao Miyazaki movie I ever saw (heck, the first anime I ever saw that wasn't Dragonball Z) was Princess Mononoke. I instantly fell in love with the lush animation, the sweeping orchestral soundtrack, and the fantastical blend of samurai culture and Japanese mysticism. It's the film that simultaneously got me interested in Japanese animation and made me very picky about the anime I actually did watch. If Princess Mononoke was this good, why couldn't everything else be?
Miyazaki's swan song The Wind Rises also comes out the same day, and it's right up there with these two as one of my favorite films. It's a quiet introspection of a young Japanese man growing up during World War 2. He just wants to make beautiful planes, but the only way he can get a job doing that is if he designs fighter jets for the war effort. If you're a creative person, or can simply appreciate the hard work and craft that goes into creating something out of nothing, this film will resonate with you just as much as it did with me. I'm not afraid to admit that I left the theater with some misty eyes.
With Miyazaki's retirement, and the modern push into computer-generated animation, it's doubtful we'll get animated films at this staggering level of quality ever again. And on one day, you'll get to watch three of his greatest films in high-definition. Best holiday ever.
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